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Aussies tame the Danes

It’s funny how quickly a Football fan can turn mathematician. Leaving the Samara Arena after the match yesterday, both the Danish and Australian supporters could be heard quickly going over the permutations and possible scenario. This further intensified later on in the night once France beat Peru.

It goes a little something like this; A draw or a loss against Peru and we’re out. A win will see us through as long as France keep to their end of the bargain by beating Denmark. However, this is where is gets a little complicated and where those who switched from Beer to Vodka last night got a little confused. Denmark at the moment have a +2 goal difference on us. They have +1 and we are -1. This means that if we win 1-0 and France beat Denmark 1-0 then we’re through; But that leaves us both on zero goal difference then, I hear you shouting in your green and gold onesie. Correct, this then means it comes down to goals scored and we would have scored more, assuming France win 1-0 of course.

Further to this, the matter becomes more complicated depending on scorelines, then yellow cards and if it’s still a stalemate, a coin is tossed. Well, not really but close. A Ball is drawn out of a pot. Can you imagine that, your World Cup destiny being decided by a stroke of luck by some FIFA employee? How about the people over here in Russia. For those staying on past the group phase having their future travel plans decided by someone picking an oversized gum ball out of a giant wine glass. Quite bizarre when you think about it.

Why couldn’t someone on the organising committee at least think of something more exciting? How good instead would it be if Australia and Denmark did finish locked in a tie, they have a penalty shootout in Red Square in front of the Kremlin. Putin could toss the coin to see who takes the first pen. Brilliant!. I’m sending this idea to Gianni Infantino (FIFA President) as soon as I finish writing this blog.

Back to the Denmark game…

It was such a great day. A long one for those travelling on our Moscow Home Base program, but a great one nonetheless. We Left the hotel in Moscow at 4.30am and most didn’t return until 2.30 the following morning. So essentially, we were out for close to 24 hours. A great effort and shows how passionate people are about Football and our national team.

Our pre game function at the Samara Hunters Club was a perfect setting for the weather Samara put on. Set in the countryside, it didn’t take long for things to liven up once our guests arrived. Both programs combined again for a memorable afternoon, talking football, sampling the local delicacies and Russian BBQ lunch, and of course the Beers flowed. An 80’s Russian band rocked the house and then later, Simon Hill on drums and Francis Leach on Vocals surprised everyone when they lined up on stage to belt out a few tunes.

Later, the game topped off a magnificent day as we watched our boys battle till that final whistle. We arguably deserved the win with the Lion’s share of chances, but as we all know we’re having real difficulty in that front third being able to create many clear goal scoring opportunities.

A post shared by GGArmy (@greenandgoldarmy) on Jun 21, 2018 at 10:11pm PDT

I don’t particularly agree with Bert’s last substitution of bringing Jackson Irvine on to the field. I personally felt that Denmark weren’t penetrating through the middle, so I would have liked if Bert reverted to one traditional defensive midfielder and brought on Mass Luongo, a traditional number 8 who could have broken the game open. Otherwise, he could have easily reverted to a 4-2-4 formation in the final ten minutes by bringing Timmy on and getting some balls into the box; Especially with what we know now and how many times we were able to get around the back of the Danish defence in the final part of the game. Over 180 minutes of Football, it’s been demonstrated that Bert is steadfast in his approach and doesn’t deviate from his preferred formation. This as an outsider screams that he doesn’t have a Plan B. I hope to be proven wrong on the 26th vs Peru.

On a side note, Behich has blossomed since moving overseas. Mile and Mooy are playing out of their skins and Sainsbury can now be considered World class.

If you read my last blog and were wondering how the Danes fare in the scarf swapping stakes then I’m able to report that they obliged like all good World Cup supporters should. A Denmark scarf will be making it back to Melbourne.

About the Blogger

Tunna

Adam "Tunna" Tennenini is a Director of Green & Gold Army and leader of the BWB - Melbourne. A veteran of six FIFA World Cups, two Asian Cups, Hundreds of A-League games, and tens of thousands of hours of couch sitting watching Football and his beloved AS Roma. He's the proud owner of an FFV Championship medallion and a dog named Remus.